MDIHC 26

〈026〉

…Who is that?

The woman glaring at me was someone I had never seen before.

The last time it was that young lady, and now again — why does someone always seem to pick a fight with me whenever I come to these gatherings? Or rather, has this only started since I married the Earl of Winchester?

Before then, I barely had any presence, so no one had a reason to pick a fight with me.

“You stole Miss Reynold away, and now you’re trying to snatch other tutors too? Everyone, please don’t recommend anyone too easily to the Countess of Winchester. She’s got a real knack for stealing what belongs to others — like a stray cat.”

Huh? Stole Miss Reynold?

Then that means…

“Countess of Aytley?”

That woman — is she that villainous mother-in-law from the novel? The one who threw water in Daniel’s face, insulted her for not bearing children, and constantly criticized her? That nasty witch?

“Hmph!”

She only snorted, not even denying it. So she was the Countess of Aytley.

“Hmph!”

I snorted right back at her. Just thinking of the things she’d do in the future made my nose wrinkle in disgust.

“Ha!”

Displeased by my attitude, the Countess of Aytley let out a mocking breath, her face scrunching up in disbelief.

“Hmph!”

Oh, you want to play? Bring it on!

I blew a snort back at her so hard it shook my face.

The Countess of Aytley’s expression twisted into a grimace, and her eyes turned hostile.

‘This b*tch…’

She didn’t say it out loud, but her eyes screamed it.

‘What are you going to do about it? You’re just a nobody right now!’

But I glared right back at her.

“……!”

“……!!”

We were locked in a fierce battle of wills across the table, unwilling to back down.

My eyes were stinging from not blinking, and my jaw ached from clenching my teeth, but for Daniel’s sake, I could not lose.

“Hand her over!”

Yes! I won!

The Countess of Aytley, who had been fuming and glaring, was the first to burst out yelling.

“What?”

I asked innocently, hiding a victorious grin.

“Miss Reynold! The one you snatched like a thief!”

“That’s rather rude of you. A thief? And it’s not like I kidnapped her or something. She was on a break, and I simply scouted her. She came to work for me of her own will.”

“That’s exactly what I mean by snatched! Miss Reynold was on vacation!”

“A vacation? A paid break is a vacation. Miss Reynold resigned due to illness — an illness caused by the Aytley household, wasn’t it?”

“If she’s resting at home, it’s a vacation! Enough talk — return Miss Reynold! My child is very attached to her and refuses to attend lessons without her!”

“It’s not that he’s attached — it’s that she’s too easy to manipulate. And refusing lessons? Sounds more like he just doesn’t want to study.”

“What do you know about my child?!”

The exchange turned increasingly heated, and eventually, the Countess of Aytley couldn’t hold back anymore and jumped to her feet.

“I know more than enough.”

I know your entire future, you wicked mother-in-law!

“A baron’s daughter thinks she can act all high and mighty just because she married into an earldom!”

They say old habits die hard — or maybe she’s just developing new, nasty ones. I saw her reach for the teacup in front of her.

Perfect. Go ahead and throw it. I dare you.

I subtly reached for my own teacup as well, hoping mine had hotter and more plentiful tea.

“Madam! Madam!”

The door burst open and a maid — presumably from the house — ran in, breathless.

“You need to come quickly!”

“What? What’s going on?”

The hostess of today’s gathering jumped up from her seat.

“Well, um…”

The maid hesitated, glancing nervously around at the noblewomen.

“One of the young ladies… she’s hurt and crying…”

While the mothers were talking inside, the children had been left to socialize in another room. The idea was to help them make friends — and, if lucky, maybe even meet a future spouse or business partner.

So when the maid said “young lady,” she meant one of those children.

As the maid glanced around anxiously, her eyes met mine. She immediately bowed her head low, clearly apologetic.

That was all I needed to know — the injured child was Daniel.

“Daniel!”

I ran out immediately.

* * *

“Haa…”

I breathed a sigh of relief the moment I saw Daniel. Thankfully, she wasn’t bleeding or visibly in pain. There were tear streaks on her cheeks, and she was still sniffling, but that was it.

“Daniel, are you okay?”

I crouched in front of her and made eye contact as I asked. She pouted a little, still shaken from crying, but nodded slightly to show she was okay.

“What happened? Why are you crying?”

“……”

She didn’t speak right away. Instead, she glanced sideways, her eyes still watery.

“Hmph! Of course it’s all my fault.”

The boy standing where Daniel was looking snorted and muttered bitterly.

That arrogant snort, his smug attitude despite being in the wrong, that fiery red hair, and those predatory golden eyes…

I recognized him instantly. That little punk was none other than Enzo de Aytley — Daniel’s future husband, the villain, and the root of all her suffering.

“Calling something filthy filthy — what’s wrong with that?”

“Tusoonie isn’t filthy!”

Clutching her stuffed rabbit tightly, Daniel shouted back.

Honestly, I was a little surprised. I’d never seen Daniel show such intense emotion or raise her voice like this before.

“It is filthy! Ugly thing, acting all high and mighty!”

Enzo stepped forward aggressively, just like his mother, looking like he was ready to strike. Daniel flinched and shrank back.

You little punk…

“A girl shouldn’t talk back! If a man says something, you should just accept it!”

What kind of outdated nonsense is that from a kid?

…Ah, right. This is an outdated time period.

Still! No excuse! Even my own father, who’s older than this brat, doesn’t think like that. And the very symbol of manhood, the Earl of Winchester, would never say such nonsense!

But with that kind of thinking, it made sense — he must’ve tormented his wife without a second thought in the future.

What a jerk.

I ignored Enzo’s nonsense and looked back at Daniel. She was biting her lip, trying to hold back her tears.

“Did he do something to you?”

She gave a small nod.

“What did he do exactly?”

“……”

I tried asking more directly, but she stayed silent. She probably hadn’t learned it explicitly, but instinctively felt like she’d be tattling if she said anything.

“Did he hit you?”

“No, he didn’t hit me…”

“He pulled her hair!”

Before Daniel could finish, a boy with sharp eyes and a beauty mark under one of them suddenly jumped in.

“I saw it clearly with my own eyes! He pulled her hair so hard she fell!”

“Is that true, Daniel? Did you fall? Are you hurt? Where did you hit yourself?”

Hearing she’d fallen shocked me. She looked fine on the surface, but imagining her tiny body hitting the ground…

“Here…”

Apparently thinking it was okay to talk about her own pain, Daniel pointed to her forehead.

I brushed her bangs aside, and there it was — a hidden bump.

“You little brat!”

Seeing that bump made my blood boil. I glared at Enzo with fire in my eyes. He flinched slightly, then clenched his jaw and lifted his chin in defiance.

“What… what are you looking at?! You ugly thing!”

He stuttered — he knew he was in the wrong. But that brat couldn’t even say sorry. Instead, he yelled at me.

“You’re uglier.”

I raised an eyebrow and answered coldly.

Enzo’s eyes widened — clearly, no one had ever spoken to him like that before.

But he needed to learn something:

I was the kind of petty adult who would go all-in, even against a kid.